The Heroes of Newerth Website announces a new patch is going live today to add an all-new "Core Pool" gameplay mode that uses 40 "carefully selected" heroes from the MOBA game. This page has further details and a trailer showing off Core Pool features. Here's word:

Exciting changes are afoot as we aim to implement a "less is more" philosophy in HoN with our new game mode called Core Pool. Core Pool will feature 40 iconic HoN heroes and encourage players to focus on their game and take their skills to the next level in a controlled environment. As Core Pool is an optional game mode, any player can choose the mode at any time to hone their skills, develop strategy, or just have fun playing a classic game of HoN. With well over 100 characters to choose from in normal mode play, even experienced players can have difficulty keeping up with frequent new character releases. The difficulty associated with getting into HoN or any MOBA for that matter and staying current is well known and frequently lamented by gamers everywhere.

Core Pool directly addresses the steep learning curve prevalent in all MOBAs. No other MOBA offers a controlled environment like this, and we hope to help players who are struggling with learning new characters all the time by providing them a game mode option that will help them learn the basic conventions of HoN. Core Pool, and the concept behind it, is something the MOBA genre was missing and we’re really excited to bring it to our players. Core Pool is great for both experienced players, new players, and anyone looking to play HoN, as it offers a place to improve your skills and try out new techniques by yourself or with your team in a more controlled environment.

Yakubs wrote on Aug 17, 2012, 16:35:The community is the same as any other community in gaming, really. It's just that LoL/DotA/HoN are 5-man team games where all players on the team have a huge impact on the game's result and each person's performance is clear to the rest of the team during the game. It's not exactly surprising that tempers flare.

Not even close...if all the online communities were like HoN, I'd have ripped the internet out by its roots years ago.

The community is the same as any other community in gaming, really. It's just that LoL/DotA/HoN are 5-man team games where all players on the team have a huge impact on the game's result and each person's performance is clear to the rest of the team during the game. It's not exactly surprising that tempers flare.

I played a bit of LoL, and it was a mixed bag for sure. Probably about 30% of the time there was at least one guy being a complete dick. Luckily there were also some helpful people giving pointers and such, rather than just screaming at you for feeding.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)

If they ever get around to releasing a version with a carefully selected set of players, such that the community is less...assholish, then maybe I'll give it another try. Til then, I'd rather swim in raw sewage...it'd be more pleasant.